The Arkansaw traveler., 1887-12-17
A Professional PaIl- Bearer. Philadelphia News,

He was a gloomy looking sort of person, and his face wore an expres- sion of woe that made one think he had it stamped there as sort of trade mark. He was clad ill garments of the somberest hue, and from the wide weed on his high hat to the dead pol ish on his broad -soled shoes he looked for all the world like man in whose family there was a death at least once a year. When he came into the street. car sort of hush fell upon the pas- sengers out of respect for his placarded sorrow, and even the little girl in the corner, who had been wailing for the last ten minutes, subsided and gazed at the newcomer with open-eyed won- der. He sank into a seat next to that of a newspaper man and took from his pocket copy of the Ledger, opened 30 as to bring the death notices before him. These he carefully scanned, pausing every once in while to mark one of them with lead pencil. When he had finished the list he turned to his newspaper neighbor and asked, in a sepulchral tone, where a certain street was located. He was told, and the two drifted into conversation. By and by the gloomy man was asked if he had met with a bereavement lately.
 "No, indeed," he replied "there has not been death in my family for years"
 "Why, then," asked his neighbor, with more curiosity than politeness, "do you dress in such deep mourn ing?"
 "Oh, that's on account of my busi- ness."
 "You are an undertaken, them"
 "No, I am a pail bearer," and, not ing the look of surprise in his inter- locutor's face, he went on: "Some years ago there was strike in my trade-I am carpenter-and during one of my idle days I passed house where there was funeral. Stopping to watch it, I was approached by the undertaken, who asked me if I was going to the funeral. 1 said no, that 1 knew no one there. He then asked me if had any objection to being pall- bearer. l said I had none, pro- vided was paid for it, and we finally struck bargain. made as much that afternoon as I would had I worked all day at my trade, and since then have adopted pall- bearing as a means of livelihood. dress in black, as you see, and each morning look over the death notices. I have found that my services are very seldom required where the funeral is that of young man or woman, or where the deceased has belonged to any secret societies, and that my most profitable cus- toners are those who have outlived most of their companions. If the dead person happens to be an unmarried lady past the meridian of life, I am nearly always certain of the job. I find that at funerals the female attend ance outnumbers the male about four to one, and that most of the latter are close relatives. As it is generally the rule to select the pall- bearers from those not connected with the family, you can see that my services are very frequently in demand. generally seek out the undertaken and make my bar gain with him, and I average about two funerals a day. It is nice, easy sort of life and eminently respectable. You will have to excuse me now, as I have funeral in this street, and must get off here." So saying, the pall- bearer by trade unloaded the car of his cargo of professional woe, and the faces of the other passengers assumed a more joyful expression.